Saturday, December 13, 2003

SUMAN SAHAI,

The field of agricultural biotechnology has stimulated an animated discussion in many countries of the world but the predominantly agricultural countries of Asia do not fall in this category. Information levels about biotechnology per se and about Ag- Biotechnology is poor and the subject is inadequately taught in colleges and most universities. Most administrators, policy makers, politicians, legislators, bar, and judiciary do not comprehend this technology.

The lack of comprehensible and credible information is leading to poor policy development, skewed priorities for public and private investment and lack of trained manpower. The lacuna in understanding is reflected in the way public polices are being framed. The regulatory process in place is careless and shoddy to the point of being dangerous. Protagonists of biotechnology in the decision-making bodies in government are determining the biotechnology agenda and plunging headlong into it without realizing that their inexperience and inadequacies can lead to disastrous consequences.

For an agricultural country like India, the adoption of an agricultural technology has to be done carefully, keeping the interests of farmers, especially, small farmers, in mind. Decision-making must be inclusive and participatory. Yet, agricultural biotechnology is being imposed from the top, with no consultations with any of the stakeholders and no transparency in the process.

The first ever GM crop in India, Monsanto’s Bt cotton is being cultivated and there is controversy about its performance and its suitability. The regulatory system is non –transparent and has been widely criticised, decision-making is ad hoc and arbitrary. In Asia the next five years are likely to see a series of face-offs between the scientific –administrative community and the public over this new technology.It would be prudent to develop a comprehensive understanding of the ground realities and to contribute to raising the level of information and awareness among stakeholders in India and other Asian nations.

It is therefore crucially important that unbiased and comprehensible information about biotechnology and its related social, ethical and economic concerns be made available to focus groups like students, teachers, government officials and policy makers, mass media, the bar and the judiciary, farmers and professionals.There is a great need for such information materials in regional languages for education in rural and semi-urban areas. Credible studies need to be done that measure public perceptions and attitudes to agricultural biotechnology. This exercise is necessary for India to craft its own ag-biotechnology agenda, suited to its needs.

Work needs to be done urgently on :

Improving understanding of agricultural biotechnology in India/ Asia

Producing information materials on gm technology and its applications

Holding public debates to elicit the public’s views and channel this into policy making

Assessing perceptions & attitudes to agbiotechnology among the major stakeholders

Friday, December 12, 2003

SUMAN SAHAI

The chairperson of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the apex regulatory body for biotechnology products like GM crops, is not a person of the highest technical competence, as one would expect, but whichever bureaucrat happens to be posted as the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The rest of the GEAC is not trained in the core area of bio safety assessment either. The mixture of bureaucrats and representatives of scientific bodies are there ex officio; almost no one brings the specific skills required by the job.

India must radically change the composition and functions of the bodies that are designated to manage GM technology otherwise, ignorance could lead to wrong decisions that could end up hurting Indian farmers and pose a danger to the environment of this country and the health of its people. The unbridled spread of the illegal Bt cotton, Navbharat 151 and the complete failure of the GEAC to control the situation even three years down the line, do not inspire confidence in its capabilities. The GEAC’s resolute refusal to engage with public concerns or provide any information on the handling and trial of GM crops is anachronistic in this day and age and raises suspicions about its motivations. The fact that GEAC authorised commercial cultivation of Monsanto’s Bt cotton even when there were no legally mandated State Level Committees or District Level Committees, in any of the six states, raises disquiet about its flagrant disregard of the law.

The GEAC should be a technically competent body, strong on Risk assessment and Risk Management of GM crops as also on Monitoring. At present members of the GEAC are not qualified to understand the process of Bio safety Assessment, Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Assessment, which are central to their functioning.This means that they are not qualified to interpret the data that is placed before them for evaluation. The regulatory structure must be competent and independent to inspire confidence. It should be able not just to assess Biosafety but also other aspects like social and economic impacts, particularly the impact on small farmers, of the introduction of a particular GM crop. In western nations these aspects may not have a central position but in the context of Indian agriculture, it is important to evaluate such impacts before taking a final decision.

The UNEP International Technical guidelines for safety in Biotechnology outline the following steps for identifying potential impacts and assessment of risks:

Estimate the overall potential impacts that may be beneficial to human health or the environment.

In my view, it would be best to divide the regulatory function into two parts, one Advisory, the other Statutory.

Advisory Body

The Advisory body should have a broad based multidisciplinary membership that includes all relevant scientific disciplines, social scientists, environmentalists, civil society groups, members of farming and adivasi communities, representatives of panchayati raj institutions, and legal experts. A person of the highest technical calibre who has experience in the regulation of GM crops should head the GEAC.

Statutory Body

The statutory body should be an independent body staffed by people skilled in Bio safety Assessment, Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment. This body should have overall responsibility for all aspects of risk assessment, risk management, risk communication leading up to decision-making about the safety of a GM crop for the environment, human and animal health and post release monitoring.It is important to ensure that there is no conflict of interest and rules should be framed in a clear and unambiguous manner so that it is not possible to stack the Agency with any particular kind of people.

The regulatory process should be transparent, accountable and technically competent. Data from field trials and the rationale for decision-making should be available to the public. A cost benefit and a risk benefit analysis should be conducted before decisions are taken and clear-cut channels should be created for the public to participate in the decision-making process and to voice concerns. There should be an annual review of the decisions taken on GM products and the rationale for these decisions. This review should be presented to Parliament.

About Me

Dr. Suman Sahai, who has had a distinguished scientific career in the field of genetics, is a recipient of the Padma Shri,the Borlaug Award, Outstanding Woman Achiever awards, the BirbalSahni Gold Medal and the Order of the Golden Ark .
Dr. Sahai is founder Chairperson of the Gene Campaign which is a leading research and advocacy organization, working on issues relating to food, nutrition and livelihoods. She has published extensively on science and policy issues and is a member of several national policy forums on scientific research and education, biodiversity and environment, biotechnology and bioethics as well as intellectual property rights.
Dr Sahai chaired India’s Planning Commission Task Force on ‘Agro biodiversity and Genetically Engineered Organisms’, for the XIth Plan. She was a member of the Steering Committee of the National Biodiversity Board , the Expert Committee on Biotechnology Policy and the Bioethics Committee of the Indian Council of Medical Research.She has served on the Research Advisory Committees of national scientific institutions.
Dr Sahai can be reached at www.genecampaign.org and mail@genecampaign.org